Rifle lift

ABSTRACT

A safety rifle lift for transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand while releasably holding the rifle in an upright and safe position.

United States Patent Justice Oct. 7, 1975 RIFLE LIFT [76] Inventor: Jerry Patton Justice, 2168 Warwick Primary Examiner-Even Blunk St Houston 77016 Assistant ExammerJames L. Rowland Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Pravel & Wilson [22] Filed: July 5, 1974 App]. No.: 485,792

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1912 Sims 42/94 X ABSTRACT A safety rifle lift for transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand while releasably holding the rifle in an upright and safe position.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures U3. Patent Oct. 7,1975

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RIFLE LIFT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention relates to lifts for safely transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand.

In the realm of hunting activities, sportsmen have commonly encountered difficulty in transporting their firearms such as rifles, from the ground to a hunting stand. Prior art techniques include many unsafe and cumbersome procedures. For example. some hunters tie a rope to their firearm, climb to their respective hunting stand with the rope in hand, and thereafter lift the firearm with the rope, running the risk that an expensive firearm may be damaged and/or the firearm may accidentally discharge while being juggled about during this lifting operation. Alternatively, other hunters attempt to climb to the hunting stand with a firearm thrown over the shoulder, consequently subjecting the hunter to the risk of damaging the firearm while climbing, dropping the firearm, or perhaps more seriously, having the firearm inadvertently discharge, or subjecting the hunter to potential injury should he fall upon the firearm while climbing to the hunting stand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new and improved safety rifle lift for safely transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand, and having a rifle support member for releasably holding the rifle in an upright, safe position while the rifle is transported to the hunting stand. The rifle support member has sleeve members therewith which permit slidable movement along elongated guide members, the rifle lift having means for operating the same from the ground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the safety rifle lift of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the safety rifle life of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the safety rifle lift taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the safety rifle lift of the present invention taken along lines 44 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings, a safety rifle lift designated generally by the letter L is provided for transporting a rifle 22 between the ground 12 and a hunting stand 20 while releasably holding the rifle 22 in an upright and safe position.

The safety rifle lift L includes a base member 10 (FIGS. 1, 2., 4) adapted to be positioned on the ground -l2 or any other suitable surface. The base member 10 includes a flat plate 10a having holes 1012 formed therein and suitable fasteners 100, such pins, bolts, stakes, or the like, to mount the flat plate I011 to the ground 12 by inserting the fasteners 10c through the appropriate holes 10b. Guide mounts 10d are mounted to the top 102 of the plate 10a of the base member 10. The guide mounts 10d, which are hollow, cylindrical sections, have set screws 10f mounted therewith.

Elongated guide members G include tubes 14 which are mounted with the base member 10 and extend-upwardly therefrom. The lower ends 14a of the tubes. 14

are mounted in the guide mounts 10d of the base member 10 and are held in position by set screws 10f. In the alternative, the guide mounts 10d can be internally threaded to threadedly receive threaded end portions 14a of the tubes 14. The tubes 14, as shown in the FIGS. 1 and 2, are preferably of a cylindrical or pipe- Iike configuration and of any desired length; however, the tubes 14 could be of a rectangular, square, or any other suitable configuration having a correspondingly shaped mount 10d. The tubes 14 extend upwardly from the base member 10 and are secured at upper end 14b by a top member 16.

The top member 16 includes a guide member, U- shaped bracket 16a, best shown in FIG. 3, which has guide mounts 16]; mounted thereto. The guide mounts 1612 may be threaded to engage threads 140 located at the upper end 1412 of the tubes 14 as shown in FIG. 1 or may be of a similar configuration to the guide mounts 10d of the base member 10 having similarly formed set screws as 10f, therewith. The guide member bracket 16a has an opening (not numbered) formed therein for mounting a pulley l8 therewith, which will be hereinafter more fully discussed. The top member I6 furthermore includes a mounting stand, U-shaped bracket 160 for mounting the top member 16 adjacent to a hunting stand 20. The mounting stand bracket 16(- has a plate portion 161/ and flanges 162 extending outwardly therefrom. The plate 161! has openings (not numbered) formed therein to receive appropriate fasteners 16f for attaching the plate 161] to the hunting stand 20. The flanges 160 have openings (not numbered) as formed in flanges 16g of the guide member bracket 16a which openings are aligned so that suitable connectors as bolt connectors 16/1, connect the guide member bracket 16:: and the mounting stand bracket 16c together.

The rifle support means R for releasably holding a firearm, such rifle 22, has sleeve means S mounted therewith for mounting the rifle support means R for slidable movement along guide members G. The rifle support means R includes a rifle support member 24, which includes a central support plate 24a for mounting sleeve members 26 of the sleeve means S in parallel alignment.

The rifle support plate 24a has outwardly extending arms 28a and 28b integrally formed for supporting the rifle 22 in a position away from the sleeve members 26 and the rifle support member 24.

The outwardly extending upper arm 28a is a straight member (FIG. 2) which extends outwardly from the central plate member 24a and the tubes 14 at an acute angle. Further, the upper arm 28a has outwardly extending fingers 28(- attached thereto by extension 28d to support the upper part such as barrel 22b of the rifle 22. The fingers 28c are resilient in nature and have a non-metallic, non-scratching external portion which releasably engages the rifle barrel 2212 without damaging the same. The lower arm 28b is curved outwardly from central plate member 24a and has a base 28e having upwardly extending fingers 28f formed therewith. The base 382 of the lower arm 28b is adapted to receive the butt 22a of the rifle 22 with the upwardly extending fingers 28f being resilient and having a non-metallic, non-scratching external portion which releasably engages the rifle butt 221! while preventing damage to the exterior surface of the rifle 22..

An adjustable stop 30 (FlG. 1 is adjustably mounted to tube 14 at any desired position. The stop 30a includes a mounting portin'30u and a tab member 300. The mounting portion 30a is sleevelike and wraps about the tube 14 and includes a segment (not shown) extending outwardly therefrom such that fastener 3012 may engage the segment and tab 300 in a constricting, frictional engagement about the tube 14. The tab 300 has a grooved portion 30:! therewith.

An opening 25 formed in the rifle support means R provides a location for inserting and tying a rope 32 thereto. The rope 32 is secured at the opening 25 and extends from the opening 25 substantially parallel to the tubes 14 to the pulley 18 mounted with the top member 16 preventing entanglement of the rope 32 with the tubes 14. The rope 32 then extends from the pulley 18 to the vicinity adjacent the adjustable stop 30. Circumferential edge 18a of pulley 18 is aligned with the center opening 25 to prevent binding-as rope 32 is used to raise and lower the rifle support means R.

In the use or operation for the present invention, the safety rifle lift L is set up follows. Tubes 14 are inserted through the sleeves 26 and thereafter into the guide mounts d of the base member 10 and locked into position by set screws 10f. The tubes 14 are then fixed at upper end 14]) to the guide mounts 16b of the guide member bracket 16a to insure proper parallel alignment of the tubes 14 as disposed within the sleeves 26. The u-shaped bracket 16c is attached to the hunting stand 20 by fasteners 16]". The lift L is then raised upwardly and guide member bracket 16 is mounted with the mounting stand bracket 160 by appropriate bolt connectors 16h. Bolt connectors 16/1 allow for the brackets 160, 16c to be in an unaligned, unparallel pivotal relationship with respect to one another. This adjustable feature helps to compensate for irregularities of the ground 12 and still maintain substantially vertical disposition of the tubes 14. Alternatively, the pivotal mounting of brackets 16a and 16c allows the tubes 14 to be mounted at various angles with respect to the ground 12 or hunting stand 20. After the vertical angle or position of the tubes G is decided, and bolt connectors 1611 are in place, the fasteners or pins 10c are driven into the ground. The adjustable stop is then positioned at an appropriate lower elevation such that the rifle support member 24 is preferably waist high. The adjustable stop 30 allows the sleeve 26 to rest upon the upper surface 300 of the mount portion 300, thus preventing the rifle support member 24 from dropping to a lower elevation.

When the butt 22a of the rifle 22 is placed on the rifle support means R, the fingers 28f of base 2 8e serve to hold the rifle butt in position and fingers 28c receive and clamp the rifle barrel in place. The fingers 280 are spaced apart at a distance less that the width of the upper part (such as the barrel) of this rifle 22 so that the fingers are clamped tightly with the barrel. The rifle 22 may be safely transported to the hunting stand 20 by a hunter standing on the ground 12 pulling on the rope 32 adjacent the adjustable stop 30. When the rifle 22 is at the desired location, the rope 32 is passed through the groove portion 301! of the adjustable stop and appropriately tied to fix the elevation of the rifle support means R. The hunter thereafter negotiates himself onto the hunting stand 20 and retrieves his rifle 22 from the rifle support means R of the safety rifle lift L of the present invention. When the hunter desires to depart from the hunting stand 20 with the rifle 22, the rifle 22 is again placed within the fingers 28f. 280 for positioning the rifle 22 therein. The hunter then climbs from the hunting stand 20, unties the knotted connection adjacent the groove portion 30:! of the adjustable bracket 30, and lowers the rifle support means R until the sleeve 26 rests upon the adjustable stop 30, whereinafter the hunter may retrieve his rifle 22 from the safety rifle lift L of the present invention.

Thus, the hunter can climb to the hunting stand 20 without having to carry his rifle 22 with him, thus reducing the risk of damage to the rifle 22 and/or potential injury to the hunter through inadvertent discharging of the rifle 22, falling on the rifle 22, being hit by the rifle 22, or the like. Furthermore, when the rifle 22 is either raised and/or lowered, the hunter remains on the ground 12 having a firm footing to control the rifle 22, substantially reducing the risk of injury incumbent with prior art devices.

Furthermore, the components of the safety rifle lift L may be made of stainless steel, aluminum, plastic, hard rubber or any other material suitable for withstanding environmental deterioration, capable of not marring the surface of the rifle 22, and having appropriate strength characteristics necessary for the proper support of the safety lift L of the present invention.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

For example, the fingers such as 280 and 28fmay be metal with an outer coating of rubber or some artificial polymeric material. Or, in the alternative, the fingers can be formed completely of a polymer such as polyethylene.

I claim:

1. A rifle lift for safely transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand, comprising:

a base member adapted to be positioned on the ground;

elongated guide members affixed to and extending upwardly from said base member, each of said elongated guide members being substantially parallel to one another;

a top member attached to said guide members and adapted to be positioned adjacent the hunting stand;

a rifle support means for releasably holding the rifle in an upright, safe position;

sleeve means mounted with said rifle support means for mounting said rifle support means for slidable movement along said guide members;

said rifle support means including a rifle support member for mounting said sleeve means in parallel alignment and said rifle support member having outwardly extending arms for supporting the rifle in a position away from said guide members and said rifle support member; and,

means operated from the ground for moving said rifle support means along said guide members between the ground and the hunting stand.

. 2. The rifle lift of claim 1, wherein said sleeve means includes:

sleeve members mounted on opposite sides of said rifle support means in slidable engagement with said elongated guide members.

3. The rifle lift of claim 1, wherein said outwardly extending arms respectively include;

upwardly extending fingers for releasably engaging the butt of the rifle; and

outwardly extending fingers for releasably engaging the barrel of the rifle.

4. The rifle lift of claim 3, wherein:

each of said fingers is resilient and has a non-metallic, non-scratching external portion which engages the rifle. said external portion being so formed to prevent damage to the exterior surface of the rifle.

5. The rifle lift of claim 4, wherein said moving means includes:

a pulley mounted with said top member and adapted to movably receive a rope therewith;

said rifle support member having an opening formed therein to secure said rope therewith said rifle support member, said rope being secured and extending from said rifle support member to said pulley, said rope extending therefrom said pulley to the ground.

6. The rifle lift of claim 5, wherein:

said pulley is mounted with said top member such that said rope from said rifle support member to said pulley remains substantially centered between and parallel to said guide member to prevent tangling or intertwisting of said rope.

7. The rifle lift of claim 6, further including:

an adjustable stop mounted on said guide member for adjustably limiting the lower position of said sleeve member.

8. The rifle lift of claim 7, wherein:

said adjustable stop has a grooved portion formed therewith for securing said rope extending from said pulley to the ground. when said rifle support member is in a position adjacent to the hunting stand.

9. The rifle lift of claim 1 wherein said top member further includes:

a mounting stand bracket mounted adjacent the hunting stand; and

a guide member bracket mounted with said guide members, said guide member bracket being pivotally mounted with said mounting stand bracket to permit mounting of said elongated guide members at any angle with respect to the ground and the hunting stand. 

1. A rifle lift for safely transporting a rifle between the ground and a hunting stand, comprising: a base member adapted to be positioned on the ground; elongated guide members affixed to and extending upwardly from said base member, each of said elongated guide members being substantially parallel to one another; a top member attached to said guide members and adapted to be positioned adjacent the hunting stand; a rifle support means for releasably holding the rifle in an upright, safe position; sleeve means mounted with said rifle support means for mounting said rifle support means for slidable movement along said guide members; said rifle support means including a rifle support member for mounting said sleeve means in parallel alignment and said rifle support member having outwardly extending arms for supporting the rifle in a position away from said guide members and said rifle support member; and, means operated from the ground for moving said rifle support means along said guide members between the ground and the hunting stand.
 2. The rifle lift of claim 1, wherein said sleeve means includes: sleeve members mounted on opposite sides of said rifle support means in slidable engagement with said elongated guide members.
 3. The rifle lift of claim 1, wherein said outwardly extending arms respectively include; upwardly extending fingers for releasably engaging the butt of the rifle; and outwardly extending fingers for releasably engaging the barrel of the rifle.
 4. The rifle lift of claim 3, wherein: each of said fingers is resilient and has a non-metallic, non-scratching external portion which engages the rifle, said external portion being so formed to prevent damage to the exterior surface of the rifle.
 5. The rifle lift of claim 4, wherein said moving means includes: a pulley mounted with said top member and adapted to movably receive a rope therewith; said rifle support member having an opening formed therein to secure said rope therewith said rifle support member, said rope being secured and extending from said rifle support member to said pulley, said rope extending therefrom said pulley to the ground.
 6. The rifle lift of claim 5, wherein: said pulley is mounted with said top member such that said rope from said rifle support member to said pulley remains substantially centered between and parallel to said guide member to prevent tangling or intertwisting of said rope.
 7. The rifle lift of claim 6, further including: an adjustable stop mounted on said guide member for adjustably limiting the lower position of said sleeve member.
 8. The rifle lift of claim 7, wherein: said adjustable stop has a grooved portion formed therewith for securing said rope extending from said pulley to the ground, when said rifle support member is in a position adjacent to the hunting Stand.
 9. The rifle lift of claim 1 wherein said top member further includes: a mounting stand bracket mounted adjacent the hunting stand; and a guide member bracket mounted with said guide members, said guide member bracket being pivotally mounted with said mounting stand bracket to permit mounting of said elongated guide members at any angle with respect to the ground and the hunting stand. 